2006–07 FA Premier League
The 2006–07 FA Premier League was the fifteenth season of the FA Premier League since its establishment in 1992. The season started on 19 August 2006 and concluded on 13 May 2007. Manchester United ended the season as Premiership champions for the ninth time in fifteen years, after Chelsea failed to win against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. This left them seven points behind United, with two games to go, confirming the Manchester club as champions once more. The three relegation spots were occupied by Watford and Sheffield United who each lasted one season in the league, along with Charlton Athletic who went down after eight seasons. League table Pld = Matches played; W''' = Matches won; '''D = Matches drawn; L''' = Matches lost; '''F = Goals for; A''' = Goals against; '''GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points 1. Since the finalists of the 2006–07 FA Cup (Manchester United and Chelsea) and the League Cup winners (Chelsea) had already qualified for the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League through their Premier League positions, their 2007–08 UEFA Cup places were given to the 6th- and 7th-placed Premier League teams. 2.The highest-placed team who applied for the Intertoto Cup and not in an automatic UEFA Cup spot was awarded with a place in that competition. Blackburn Rovers occupied the Intertoto place, because Portsmouth and Reading did not apply.Spurs win may harm Rovers' Intertoto chances A further place in the UEFA Cup was up for grabs via the Premiership Fair Play League. The winner is placed into a draw with the winners of Fair Play leagues in other countries. The representatives from the two countries that come out of the hat first are given a place in the UEFA Cup first qualifying round. Since the winners of the Premiership Fair Play League, Tottenham Hotspur, had already qualified for the UEFA Cup by virtue of their league position, their place in the Fair Play draw was given to Aston Villa. However, the places in the UEFA Cup were awarded to the representatives from Finland and Norway. For further information on European qualification see Premier League – Competition. Personnel and kits (as of 13 May 2007) Results Season statistics Scoring *Biggest win: 6 goals – Reading 6–0 West Ham United *Highest scoring match: 8 goals – Arsenal 6–2 Blackburn Rovers *First goal: Rob Hulse for Sheffield United against Liverpool (19 August 2006) *Last goal: Harry Kewell (pen.) for Liverpool against Charlton Athletic (13 May 2007) Overall *Most wins: 28 – Manchester United *Fewest wins: 5''' – Watford *Most losses: '''21 – West Ham United *Fewest losses: 3''' – Chelsea *Most goals scored: '''83 – Manchester United *Fewest goals scored: 29 – Manchester City and Watford *Most goals conceded: 60 – Fulham and Charlton Athletic *Fewest goals conceded: 24 – Chelsea Home *Most wins: 15 – Manchester United *Fewest wins: 3''' – Watford *Most losses: '''10 – Wigan Athletic *Fewest losses: 0''' – Chelsea *Most goals scored: '''46 – Manchester United *Fewest goals scored: 10 – Manchester City *Most goals conceded: 30 – Wigan Athletic *Fewest goals conceded: 7''' – Liverpool Away *Most wins: '''13 – Manchester United *Fewest wins: 1''' – Fulham and Charlton Athletic *Most losses: '''14 – Sheffield United *Fewest losses: 3''' – Manchester United and Chelsea *Most goals scored: '''37 – Manchester United *Fewest goals scored: 8''' – Sheffield United *Most goals conceded: '''42 – Fulham *Fewest goals conceded: 13 – Chelsea Statistics Goals Top assists Historic goals 15,000th goal The Premier League expected to have the league's 15,000th goal scored at some point in the period between Christmas and New Year. The target was reached on 30 December when Moritz Volz scored for Fulham against Chelsea. Barclays, the Premiership's sponsor, donated £15,000 to the Fulham Community Sports Trust in Volz' name. Additionally, a fan who correctly predicted that Volz would score the historic goal in a contest presented the player with a special award prior to Fulham's game against Watford at Craven Cottage on 1 January. The honour of scoring the 15,000th goal has led to Volz being nicknamed "15,000 Volz" (his name is often pronounced in English as "Volts", although the proper German pronunciation would be "Folts"). Goalkeeper scores On 17 March, Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Paul Robinson scored against Watford from an 83-yard free kick, which bounced over his England team-mate Ben Foster, who was in goal for the Hornets, leading Spurs to a 3–1 win at White Hart Lane. This was the third goal scored by a goalkeeper in Premiership history. The other two were scored by Peter Schmeichel, for Aston Villa against Everton on 21 October 2001, and Brad Friedel, for Blackburn Rovers against Charlton Athletic on 21 February 2004. In those two cases, the teams they played for lost. Robinson became the first keeper to score for the winning team in a Premiership match. Monthly awards 1. Keane and Berbatov became the first joint winners of the Player of the Month award since Arsenal's Dennis Bergkamp and Edu in February 2004 Annual awards This season's awards were dominated by Manchester United, who, as a team, picked up a total of eight individual awards, five of which went to Cristiano Ronaldo. They also had eight players in the Team of the Year. PFA Players' Player of the Year The PFA Players' Player of the Year award for 2007 was won by Cristiano Ronaldo. He had won the PFA Young Player of the Year award earlier on in the awards ceremony, making him the first player to win both awards in the same year since Andy Gray managed the same feat in 1977. Didier Drogba came second, while Paul Scholes was third. The shortlist for the PFA Players' Player of the Year award, in alphabetical order, is as follows: *Didier Drogba (Chelsea) *Cesc Fàbregas (Arsenal) *Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) *Ryan Giggs (Manchester United) *Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) *Paul Scholes (Manchester United) PFA Young Player of the Year The PFA Young Player of the Year award was also won by Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United. Cesc Fàbregas came in second place, and Aaron Lennon was third. Wayne Rooney was going for a hat-trick of Young Player of the Year awards, having won this award for both of the two preceding seasons, but didn't even feature in the top three for the 2006–07 season. The shortlist for the award was as follows: *Kevin Doyle (Reading) *Cesc Fàbregas (Arsenal) *Aaron Lennon (Tottenham Hotspur) *Micah Richards (Man City) *Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) *Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) PFA Team of the Year Goalkeeper: Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United) Defence: Gary Neville, Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidić (all Manchester United) Midfield: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo (all Manchester United) Attack: Didier Drogba (Chelsea), Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham Hotspur) PFA Merit Award The PFA Merit Award was awarded to Sir Alex Ferguson, manager of Manchester United, for his commitment to the club, the Premiership, and as recognition of the nineteen major trophies he has won in his time in England. PFA Fans' Player of the Year This award was voted for in an online poll run by the PFA on their website. With four days of voting left before the closing date of midnight on 15 April, the five players with the most votes in the poll were Cristiano Ronaldo, Steven Gerrard, Dimitar Berbatov, Thierry Henry and Frank Lampard, but it was Ronaldo who managed to fend off the challenges of the other four. Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year The Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year award for 2007 was also won by Cristiano Ronaldo. The award is presented by the Football Writers' Association and voted for by its members. This year, Didier Drogba came second and Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes came third and fourth respectively. Barclays Manager of the Season This award was presented to Manchester United's Sir Alex Ferguson before the club's final game of the season against West Ham United. Barclays Player of the Season This award was also presented before Manchester United's game with West Ham United on the last day of the season, and was awarded to Cristiano Ronaldo, granting him the sextuple of PFA Players' Player, Young Player, Fans' Player of the Year, Barclays Premiership Player of the Season, Football Writers' Association Player of the Year and a place in the Team of the Year. Barclays Premiership Merit Award Ryan Giggs was presented with this special award at the same time as the Manager and Player of the Season Awards were given out, in recognition of his record of nine Premier League titles. Barclays Golden Glove Award This award was presented to Liverpool's Pepe Reina for the second successive season after keeping 19 clean sheets, ahead of Tim Howard of Everton (14) and Marcus Hahnemann of Reading (13). Notable changes Managers *'Aston Villa' – Manager David O'Leary was sacked during the pre-season campaign. He was replaced by former Leicester City and Celtic manager Martin O'Neill. *'Bolton Wanderers' – After eight years in charge, Sam Allardyce resigned as manager of Bolton in April. Assistant Sammy Lee and first team coach Ricky Sbragia took over for the remaining three games. *'Charlton Athletic' – Former Crystal Palace manager Iain Dowie was appointed to follow Alan Curbishley's 15 year reign. After a string of poor results, Dowie was sacked in November and replaced by assistant Les Reed. Reed only lasted a month before being replaced by Alan Pardew, who had departed West Ham two weeks earlier. *'Fulham' – On 10 April 2007, manager Chris Coleman was sacked after four years managing the club. They subsequently named Northern Ireland manager Lawrie Sanchez as caretaker manager for the remaining five games of the season. On 11 May, Sanchez quit his job as Northern Ireland manager to take on full-time duties at Fulham. *'Manchester City' – Stuart Pearce was sacked on 14 May after two years in charge, the poor discipline at the club being cited as one of the reasons behind his being let go. *'Middlesbrough' – Club captain Gareth Southgate was appointed as the new manager, after Steve McClaren had left to become England Head Coach. *'Newcastle United' – On 6 May, Glenn Roeder resigned as manager with immediate effect. Sam Allardyce took over as manager on 15 May, having signed a three-year contract with the Tyneside club. *'Sheffield United' – Neil Warnock resigned on 16 May, three days after the Blades were relegated from the Premier League. He was replaced by Bryan Robson. *'West Ham United' – Manager Alan Pardew was sacked on 11 December, shortly after the club was taken over by Eggert Magnusson as the new chairman. The club replaced him with former Charlton boss Alan Curbishley. *'Wigan Athletic' – On 14 May, Paul Jewell resigned less than 24 hours after guiding his team to safety following a 2–1 victory over Sheffield United at Bramall Lane. Chris Hutchings was appointed as the new boss for the 2007–08 season. Sponsors Online gambling sites have joined the traditional industries of automakers, breweries, electronics and financial institutions as team sponsors. For the 2006–07 season, there are no fewer than three Internet betting sites as new kit sponsors, joining Middlesbrough with 888.com. Here are the current lists (as of 12 June 2006) of changes: *Arsenal reverted back to their traditional red and white home kit, but with gold side striping on the shirt, and with Dubai-based Emirates (who are sponsoring their new stadium) as their new shirt sponsor replacing mobile phone service provider O2. *Aston Villa have a new shirt sponsor, Internet betting site 32Red replacing DWS Investments of Germany. Many Internet posters and fans thought that the company logo for DWS actually said "COWS" because of the hexagon's placement in front of the initials. Also, white has replaced yellow as the colour of the new alternate kit. *Blackburn Rovers will also have a new shirt sponsor, with Internet betting site Bet24 taking over on the front of the shirt while Lonsdale, who served as the shirt sponsor in 2005–06, remains their kit provider. *Bolton Wanderers stick with last season’s home strip, but will wear an all-claret away kit. *Charlton Athletic are currently into their first full season of shirt sponsorship with the Spanish construction firm Llanera, who came on board mid-season in 2005–06 after previous sponsors all:sports went into administration. The home shirt features a white shoulder panel and the away kit is all black. *Chelsea have switched from Britain's Umbro to German company adidas after they made an eleventh-hour bid that was higher than Nike's. Electronics maker Samsung will retain sponsorship on the front of the shirt. The former Champions have also reverted to their traditional away colours: a white shirt with blue lining. Their third choice kit is all black with silver pinstripes. *Everton have a new home kit made by Umbro featuring the classic diamonds down one shoulder, and will retain their sponsor, the Thai-based brewer Chang. *Fulham have a new home kit, with Germany's PUMA being replaced by French-based Airness, and their long-sleeve shirts will feature thumb holes. British Internet provider Pipex will stay as the team's shirt sponsor with their new insignia. *Liverpool have changed from Reebok to adidas as a result of the merger of the two companies, as Danish brewers Carlsberg stays on the front of the shirts. *Manchester City are wearing a new all sky blue strip. *Manchester United also have a new Nike home and away kit as US-based AIG, a secondary sponsor last season, becomes the new shirt sponsor after mobile phone providers Vodafone stepped down, due to their sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League. The new home kit commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Busby Babes' 1956 league title and first foray into European competition. *Middlesbrough have a new away strip of white shirts with royal blue shorts. *Newcastle United retain the same home strip but have new away and 3rd strips, claret shirts with royal blue sleeves as an away kit and black & sky blue as the alternate colours. *Portsmouth have a new design for their home strip by German-based Jako despite last seasons stating on the label its expiry date was 2007, the away shirt is white and a new third kit is all black. *Reading are in PUMA kits with blue and white hoops at home and sponsorship on the front of the shirt from copying titan Kyocera. They will wear a maroon and amber alternate kit. *Sheffield United are wearing le coq sportif kits with the famous red and white stripes on the shirt, and US-based credit card bankers Capital One as sponsor in the front. The alternate is black and white stripes. *Tottenham Hotspur have switched their kit provider from Kappa to PUMA and features a new shirt sponsor, Internet-based betting site Mansion Casinos replacing Thomson Holidays. They will also have a light blue alternate and a chocolate and gold third kit this season as part of their 125th anniversary celebrations. *Watford are in yellow with Diadora kits and Internet financiers Loans.co.uk as the team's shirt sponsors. They have an all black away strip. *West Ham United have a new away strip in navy blue replacing the white and claret shirt. The new strip includes the new Reebok logo (RBK). The club are sticking with the job-search website JobServe. *Wigan Athletic now have an all-royal blue primary and an all-black secondary for the 2006–07 campaign, made and sponsored by JJB Sports. Stadia *'Arsenal' moved to the larger 60,000-seat Emirates Stadium after 93 years at Highbury. The first game was a testimonial match for Dennis Bergkamp, who retired following the 2005–06 season as Arsenal took on Ajax (Arsenal won 2–1), the club where Bergkamp began his career, on 22 July. Highbury will be converted to luxury apartments as both the East and West stands are being retro-fitted and the newer North and South (Clock) ends have been razed to build apartments from the ground up, while the pitch will become a communal garden. The clock from South end has been placed in the Southwest end in the new facility. The first Premiership match at the Emirates Stadium was held on 19 August against Aston Villa, and the match finished in a 1–1 draw. *'Manchester United's' Old Trafford is now a fully completed 76,000-seater stadium, making it the largest club stadium in the UK, and its first match in this configuration was a friendly against La Liga team Sevilla in August. Fulham served as the first Premiership visitors on 20 August, losing 5–1 in front of a Premiership-record 75,511 fans. *'Reading''s Madejski Stadium was a new Premiership ground for this season, Reading's first in the competition. In the stadium's first Premiership match, Reading came from a two goal deficit after twenty minutes to clinch a thrilling 3–2 victory over Middlesbrough. }} Ownership *American entrepreneur and the owner of the NFL's Cleveland Browns Randy Lerner completed the purchase of Aston Villa from Doug Ellis in August, to the delight of Villa's fans. *Rumours of a possible takeover of West Ham abounded following the unexpected acquisition of Carlos Tévez and Javier Mascherano shortly before the closure of the summer transfer window. On 21 November, West Ham agreed an £85 million takeover of the club from Icelandic businessman Eggert Magnússon. In April, West Ham were fined a record £5.5 million by the League for irregularities in the ownership of Tévez and Mascherano – West Ham's guilty plea, and the fact that the irregularities had taken place under the previous ownership were cited as reasons for the club avoiding a points deduction as part of their punishment. *Liverpool announced on 6 February that chairman David Moores accepted a £219 million takeover bid from American businessmen George N. Gillett Jr. and Tom Hicks. Gillett, the owner of the Montreal Canadiens hockey team, and Hicks, the owner of the Dallas Stars hockey team and Texas Rangers baseball team, will be co-chairmen, while Moores remains an honorary life president. Previously, the club had entered into takeover talks with Dubai International Capital (DIC), but that takeover bid collapsed in late January. *Stan Kroenke, who owns the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche and Colorado Rapids, bought a 10% share in Arsenal from ITV. The Rapids and Arsenal already had an agreement in place to exchange ideas. Rebranding On 12 February 2007, the FA Premier League renamed itself simply the Premier League, complete with new logo, sleeve patches and typeface. The sponsored name remains the Barclays Premier League. Promoted teams These three teams were promoted from the Football League Championship at the start of the season: *Reading (first time in the top flight) *Sheffield United *Watford Relegated teams These three teams were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the season: *Watford *Charlton Athletic *Sheffield United See also *2006–07 in English football *2006–07 Football League Notes External links *2006–07 Premier League Season at RSSSF * Premier League 2006–07 on BBC Sport: News – Recent results – Upcoming fixtures – Live Scores – Current standings *Official Premier League site Fa Premier League, 2006–07 1 Category:Premier League seasons ar:الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز 2006/07 be-x-old:Чэмпіянат Ангельшчыны па футболе 2006—2007 гадоў cs:Anglická Premier League 2006/07 da:Premier League 2006-07 de:Premier League 2006/07 et:Premier League'i hooaeg 2006–2007 el:Αγγλικό πρωτάθλημα ποδοσφαίρου ανδρών 2006-07 es:Premier League 2006/07 fr:Championnat d'Angleterre de football 2006-2007 gl:Premier League 2006-2007 ko:프리미어리그 2006-07 hy:Պրեմիեր Լիգա 2006-07 (Անգլիա) hr:FA Premier liga 2006./07. id:Liga Utama Inggris 2006–07 is:Enska úrvalsdeildin 2006-07 it:FA Premier League 2006-2007 kk:Футболдан Англия чемпионаты 2006/2007 lb:Premier League 2006/07 hu:2006–2007-es angol labdarúgó-bajnokság (első osztály) mr:एफ.ए. प्रीमियर लीग २००६-०७ ms:Liga Perdana Inggeris 2006-07 ja:FAプレミアリーグ2006-2007 no:FA Premier League 2006/07 nn:FA Premier League 2006/07 pl:Premier League (2006/2007) pt:FA Premier League 2006-07 ru:Чемпионат Англии по футболу 2006/2007 sk:FA Premier League 2006/07 sr:Премијер лига 2006/07. fi:Englannin Valioliigan kausi 2006–2007 sv:FA Premier League 2006/2007 th:พรีเมียร์ลีก ฤดูกาล 2006–07 uk:Чемпіонат Англії з футболу 2006—2007: Прем'єр-ліга zh:2006–07賽季英格蘭超級聯賽